Festive Hearts And Kisses (Hope Valley Christmas 2)

6. Jerry

JERRY

I take a deep, steadying breath as I watch Reed leave the room and then listen to him climb the stairs.

My heart beats a rapid rhythm and I’m hard.

Jesus .

I’d put Reed firmly in the friend box—well, I thought I had—but the idea of him waiting up there for me... naked...

I groan and run a hand through my hair before another insistent bark has me looking down at my dog. “You’re a gigantic cock block, you know that?”

She barks again, like she knows she is and doesn’t give a flying fuck either.

“Come on, then.” I give myself a quick adjustment and head through to the kitchen and the back door. There’s a chill in the air as I open it to let her out, the cool breeze raising goosebumps over my forearms, and I shiver. It’s dark out, the moon covered by heavy clouds and I quickly lose track of Jen as she runs down the garden.

Leaning against the door frame, I have nothing to do but think over the last few hours and everything Reed told me. It wasn’t the break-up story I’d been expecting, but no wonder it’s left him so devastated.

And no wonder he wasn’t in a place to start anything on New Year’s Eve.

Is he now?

We might be nine months down the line, but that doesn’t mean anything. And he still lives hours away... well, he does for now, anyway.

Not gonna lie, the idea of Reed moving to Sheffield didn’t really register at the time, but depending on where he ends up, he could be within a thirty-minute drive rather than the two and a half hours that he is now.

If he takes the job.

And if he’s interested in anything more than sex.

Am I?

So many questions rattle around in my mind, I’m going to get a headache at this rate. Why am I overcomplicating this? We’re both adults for fuck’s sake. Go upstairs, have hot, no-strings sex, and see where we are in the morning.

Easy.

The wind picks up and I shiver again. “Jen,” I hiss, peering out into the dark when I get no response. “Fuck’s sake.” Of all the nights for her to take her sweet-arse time going for a piss, she has to choose the one where I have a hot naked guy waiting upstairs for me.

Maybe it’s a sign.

Or maybe she’s just doing what dogs do. Resigned to having to go get her, I slide on my shoes and grab a coat. I get two paces outside when the heavens open, because of course they do. Labs don’t give a shit about rain though, and it still takes me a good five minutes to wrangle her away from the exciting scent she’s picked up.

“Why?” I grumble as I follow her inside and lock the door. “You’re usually such a good girl, why tonight?” Her tail wags as she stares up at me, big brown eyes the picture of innocence. How am I supposed to be mad at that face?

Knowing I have about ten seconds before she shakes and covers the kitchen in water, I grab a towel and dry her off.

Then I do the same to me and turn all the lights off downstairs.

I take the stairs two at a time, anticipation buzzing through my veins as I reach the open door of the guest room, then come to a grinding halt.

Reed is fast asleep, lips curved in a soft smile, dead to the world.

I’m not even disappointed because the sight of him, all snuggled up with his arm wrapped around Kyla like she’s a cuddly toy, is too cute for words. She has her paws on his hand, holding him in place and, not gonna lie, my heart stutters.

A wet nose brushes against my calf and I roll my eyes. “Come on, then,” I whisper. “Looks like it’s just you and me tonight.”

Reed stumbles into the kitchen the next morning at half past seven. “Morning,” he mumbles around a yawn. I’ve been up for about an hour already, but I fully expected to have to wake him up for our walk, so I’m surprised to see him.

“Morning.” I stand and gesture for him to sit down at the table. “Coffee? Tea?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Soo...” he starts, and I look back at him over my shoulder, but his gaze is fixed on his hands. “About last night...”

I stop doing what I’m doing and turn to face him because this conversation warrants my full attention. I was too keyed up to fall asleep last night, and I had far too much time to lie in bed and think about things. “I think it’s probably a good thing you fell asleep,” I cut in before he speaks again.

He frowns. “You do?”

“Not that it wouldn’t have been great.” So great, that I have to fight to push away the mental images of what we could’ve done. “But I’ve been thinking about what you said last night.”

“Which bit?”

“Your new job offer.”

He looks adorably confused now and crosses his arms as he watches me, waiting for an explanation. Pillow creases run down one side of his face, and his dark hair sticks up all over the place. Alert blue eyes stare back at me as he draws his bottom lip between his teeth, and the whole thing together makes my stomach clench.

I like him.

As a friend, sure, but now that he’s here in my house, I get the feeling that maybe we could be more if the timing was right.

Which only proves that it’s just as well we didn’t do anything last night, because I don’t think it is. Yet.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want him. That I’m not standing here debating changing my mind and asking him if his offer from last night still stands. But I think I can offer Reed something that he needs more than casual sex right now. He said he wanted a friend who’s not an ex and not connected to his ex. And I want to be that for him. I think I’m becoming that. Maybe I’m already there after our months of back-and-forth texts. But I have an offer for him that would be complicated if we crossed that line.

At least right now it would.

“What about my job?” he asks, and I startle.

“Well...” I turn back to the worktop and make him his coffee while I think about how to phrase this. “I got the feeling you were seriously considering taking it but weren’t keen on the idea of having to move.” I hand him his coffee and he shrugs.

“Yeah, maybe. Thanks,” he murmurs as he takes the mug from me. “I mean, I guess I’d have to rent somewhere first while I put my place on the market. But I’ve got Frank now. I can’t stay in a hotel—not that I’d want to. Work will apparently cover everything, but I’m not sure they’d be up for renting me a house or a flat for however long it takes mine to sell.” He shrugs again and I bite my lip, trying not to get too excited about what I’m about to offer.

He could say no.

Probably will say no, but I have to put it out there.

“What if you stayed with me?”

His head snaps up so quickly, I’m surprised he doesn’t pull something. “What?”

I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but he’s not said no, so that’s promising, right? “Well, I thought it might give you one less thing to worry about. I have the room, and obviously Frank wouldn’t be a problem.” I gesture to Kyla and Jen who’re both flaked out in Jen’s bed. “And it’s not like we don’t know each other. You could stay here while you get used to your new job and take your time looking for somewhere new.”

There.

I’ve made the offer, now it’s up to him.

I lean against the worktop again, arms folded, and wait for him to digest it all.

“Do we know each other?” he asks eventually, and it’s quiet enough that I take a moment to make sure I heard him right.

And yeah, his question stings a little, but I understand where he’s coming from. We’ve been messaging for months, but it’s not the same as seeing each other in person. I get that. But...

I take the seat opposite him.

“I think we do, yeah.” I take a drink of my coffee and replay the conversations we’ve had over the last few months. “I know you love your job, love working from home, but also wish it could be like it used to be before lockdown happened.” He tilts his head to the side, listening. “I know you got Frank because your home felt too empty after Karl left. And that you’d have had every cat in the shelter if you had the room.”

He laughs at that. “True.”

“I know you miss being close to your parents but have absolutely no desire to move back to your hometown. And—” I take a breath before meeting his eyes again. “—I know you desperately want this new job because the idea of seeing Karl every week fills you with dread. But you also hate change and taking it would mean changing almost everything.”

“It would,” he whispers.

He taps his fingers on the table, and I reach out to grasp them.

“I want to make things a little less stressful for you if I can.” I run my thumb back and forth over his knuckles.

“Why?” He looks genuinely puzzled, and I’m not sure whether to be offended by that.

“Because you’re my friend, Reed.” It’s as simple as that, really.

“Friend?” His eyebrows rise and I’m not an idiot. I know he’s thinking about last night. About what we almost did.

“Yeah.”

Our eyes meet again, and he stares back at me, unblinking, before finally closing his eyes with a heavy sigh, and I know what he’s about to say.

“I’m not saying yes,” he offers, looking down at his mug as though it holds all the answers. “But if I did... we can’t—” He breaks off and shakes his head. “We’d just be friends. We can’t cross that line.”

“Yeah,” I know. And as much as that thought sucks, especially after coming so close, I’m positive this is the right thing to do. But that doesn’t mean I can’t flirt a little. “At least not yet anyway. You’re not gonna live here forever, right?” I wink at him, and a laugh bursts out of him.

It breaks the weird tension that had threatened to creep in, and he grins back at me, the sparkle back in his eyes. “No, I won’t be here forever. And maybe not at all,” he adds quickly when I open my mouth.

We’re still holding hands, something I think he’s forgotten about because his eyes widen when he notices. He doesn’t draw back, though, just stares at where our fingers interlace. “Thank you.” When he looks up, my heart stutters at the emotion that he makes no attempt to hide. It’s gratitude and hope and maybe a touch of regret, and in that moment I wish I could take the offer back because I want nothing more than to pull him across the table and kiss him.

But then he smiles, gratitude winning out over everything else. “I’m not saying yes, because it’s not something to be decided on the spot, and?—”

“It’s fine,” I cut in. “Take all the time you need, there’s no hurry.” I don’t want him to decide now because it’ll be a no. I need him to think about it, to let the idea sit for a bit. Let him imagine how much better it would make everything.

Well, hopefully, because now I’ve put that offer out there, I really fucking want him to accept.

I nod to his mug. “Drink your coffee. I’ll make us some breakfast, and then we can go for that walk before we need to be at Sean and Vic’s.” At the mention of the word walk , Jen lifts her head, tail wagging lazily.

Reed laughs, his expression softening. “Thank you,” he murmurs again, more heartfelt this time, and I ignore the butterflies in my belly because I can’t help but hope that this means he’s considering my offer.

Oh, I know it’s going to be hard not acting on the attraction between us, but this, giving Reed a safe place to stay while he sorts out his life, is way more important.

The housewarming party goes exactly as I thought it would. Sean and Vic start the night as perfect hosts, and a few hours in, they’re tipsy and more than a little handsy.

I’m amazed when Sean manages to extract himself from Vic long enough to come talk to me.

“Jerry...” he starts, nudging me hard with his elbow.

I grunt. “What?”

He points his beer bottle in Reed’s direction. “You and Reed?”

Thankfully Reed has his back to us, deep in conversation with Hailey, so he doesn’t notice us watching him. I turn to Sean, blocking his view anyway. “What about us?”

“I was surprised when Reed chose to stay with you instead of me and Vic.”

I laugh. Can’t help it. “Really? You can’t keep your hands to yourselves in a room full of people. I don’t think poor Reed needs to be subjected to whatever happens when everyone leaves.”

Sean huffs, put out. “We’re not that bad.”

I stare at him pointedly, waiting for him to take that back, because they are exactly that bad. Not that I blame them. They’ve got some catching up to do.

“Fine,” Sean mutters. “I see your point.” He takes a drink of beer, then narrows his eyes at me. “You two still talk all the time?”

“Yep.”

“And there’s nothing going on?” He sounds far too sober all of a sudden and I shift uncomfortably. I don’t want to lie, but I don’t want to tell him about our kiss last night because for one, he’ll get the wrong idea, and two, I’m not sure Reed wants anyone to know.

Well, I have no idea whether that’s true or not, but I don’t want to go sharing our business before I’ve talked to him about it. Even with Sean.

“He told me about the job offer earlier,” Sean says before I can answer. I jump on that like a lifeline because this is something I can talk about.

“Yeah, he told me last night.” I smile at Reed when he glances our way. “I think it’d be a good move for him.”

“Hmm.”

I look back at Sean to find him watching me again.

He waits until I’ve taken a swig of beer to say, “He also told me you asked him to live with you.”

That makes me choke on the mouthful I’ve just taken and Sean sniggers as he pats me on the back. “Arsehole,” I mutter, glaring at him. I want to ask Sean what else Reed said, whether or not he’s made a decision, but I manage to keep the words in. That’s between the two of them. “I offered him my spare room,” I say instead. “I thought it’d be better than him staying somewhere strange on his own as well as starting a new job.” I shrug like it’s nothing, but Sean knows me better than anyone.

“You like him,” he says quietly.

I sigh. “Yeah.”

Sean bites his lip, clearly gearing up to say something he doesn’t want to but thinks I need to hear, but I’m way ahead of him.

“Before you tell me that it could get complicated, we’ve already had that conversation. If he comes to live with me, it’ll be as friends, nothing more.”

He hums again.

“What?”

“If he does move in with you, he’ll most likely be living with you over the Christmas period.”

“And?”

“You know how you get.”

“Nope.” I have no idea what he’s on about. Not. A. Clue.

Sean snorts. “Right. So it’s a different Jerry that decorates his house worthy of a Christmas card and makes everyone at the vets mince pies and cookies.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” he says softly, and I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. “Deny it all you want, but you’re an old romantic at heart, especially over the holiday period. And if you’ve got Reed living with you...” It doesn’t take a genius to work out where he’s going with that.

“Firstly, less of the old , thank you very fucking much. And I’m pretty sure I can keep it in my pants, even with a tree and a few lights around the house.”

I roll my eyes for good measure, ignoring Sean’s muttered, “A few lights, my arse.”

“And anyway, I don’t even know if he’s going to take the job, let alone take me up on my offer, so can we just drop it?”

Sean holds his hands up and nods. “Yeah, of course.” Then he sets a hand on my shoulder. “Sorry if I overstepped. I love you, and I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, that’s all.”

Ugh, I hate him when he’s all thoughtful and caring. That fucker.

“I know.” I pull him in for a hug and pretty soon we’re joined by a tipsy Vic, which is my cue to leave.

“You were right.” Reed bumps my shoulder as we walk to my front door. Hailey and Charlotte were kind enough to give us a lift home, so we’re both a little drunk.

“About what?” It takes me two tries to open the door, and by the time I manage it, Reed is almost draped over my back.

He laughs, warm breath tickling my neck. “About Vic and Sean being all over each other. Sean had his hands down Vic’s trousers before we’d even left.”

“Told you.”

We stumble into the hallway, greeted by a sleepy but happy-to-see-us Jen. Kyla is nowhere to be seen.

“Hey.” Reed slides down the wall to greet Jen, stroking her head and kissing her nose. “Are you going to be okay with another cat living here?”

I huff as my dog rolls over onto her back, shamelessly lapping up the attention, and it takes way too long for Reed’s words to sink in. “Wait... what?”

Reed straightens—well, tries to—and I have to grab for him before he hits the floor. I push him gently against the wall. “What are you saying?”

Reed smiles at me, in my dark hallway his blue eyes are the colour of the deepest sea. “I think I’m going to take the job.” He hesitates, plump bottom lip drawn between his teeth and I’m suddenly aware of how close we’re standing.

I doubt you could slide a sheet of paper between us, and I’m so close to kissing him that I have to shove my hands in my pockets to stop myself from cupping his jaw.

“And... if your offer still stands, I’d like to stay with you for a bit while I sort out my house.”

The urge to kiss him increases tenfold as I realise that doing it is totally off the table now. I promised him, and I refuse to go back on it, no matter how badly I want to close the distance between us and taste him.

Reed’s eyes widen when I don’t answer right away.

“Of course it still stands,” I rush out before he can take it back. “I’d love to have you here. And for what it’s worth...” I slide my hands along his jaw like I wanted to before but keep my distance. “I think you’re making the right decision.”

“I hope so,” Reed says softly, gaze dropping to my lips, then back up. “Because I really want to kiss you right now.”

Fuck.

“Same.” I rest my forehead against his. “But we probably shouldn’t. Not if you’re going to live with me.”

“Ugh.” He lets out the biggest sigh. “Yeah, I guess not.” Then he straightens and smiles at me. “Friends?”

I push away the twinge of disappointment and grin back at him. “Friends.”

We stare at each other for a few more seconds, the air steadily thickening between us, so once again I do the sensible thing and take a step back.

Reed’s smile turns rueful as he watches me put distance between us. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“For being the sensible one and stopping... this ”—he gestures between the two of us—“when I’m not sure I would’ve.”

I draw in a shaky breath. “It was hard.”

There’s a moment’s pause and then his grin is back at the same time I realise what I’ve just said, and we both crack up laughing.

By the time we pull ourselves together, the tension between us has ebbed enough that I’m not in danger of backing him up against the wall and kissing him.

I still really fucking want to, but somewhere deep down, I know he needs a friend more, and despite my cock disagreeing with me at this moment, I want that too.

And I want to be in his life long after he moves out and finds his own place, hopefully not too far away. And maybe we can revisit this when he’s settled and happy in his new house and job. For now, I’ll be Reed’s friend and housemate.

Everything else can wait.

It might take a little getting used to—I’ve lived on my own for a long time now—but we’re both adults.

As long as we keep our hands to ourselves, sharing a house with Reed will be easy.